As we reach the penultimate day of 2025, I wanted to pause and acknowledge how far this petition has travelled — and how much it continues to matter.

This year hasn’t followed a neat or predictable path. What began with the loss of a long-running work experience placement turned into months of advocacy, conversation, and persistence. Along the way, this petition has reached Parliament, contributed to discussions around benefits reform, and helped ensure that lived experience stayed visible — even when progress felt slow.

The petition is still live, because the issue is still live. Community access, fair systems, and being heard don’t stop being important just because a calendar page turns.

Thank you to everyone who has signed, shared, supported, or simply listened. Your support has helped keep this going through a long and challenging year.

As we head into 2026, this remains a work in progress — and so do I.

Still standing. Still advocating. Still hopeful.

— Anna